3D Realms No More

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Rumors suggest the Duke Nukem developer has closed its doors.

By Hilary Goldstein

Update 6:36 pm PST: Take-Two Vice President of Corporate Communications Alan Lewis returned IGN's request for official comment. Though he would not confirm that 3D Realms was closing, he did clarify one question: Who gets to publish Duke Nukem Forever?

"It is the Company's policy to not comment on its contractual relationships, nor do we comment on rumors and speculation," Lewis wrote in an e-mail. "That said, we can confirm that our relationship with 3D Realms for Duke Nukem Forever was a publishing arrangement, which did not include ongoing funds for development of the title. In addition, Take-Two continues to retain the publishing rights to Duke Nukem Forever."

It should be noted that Take-Two's ownership of the publishing rights to Duke Nukem Forever may not mean they have the authority to take over the project and complete its development. It is dependent on how the contract is written, but at the very least it means that no other company has the right to publish the title, even if members of 3D Realms wished to take it elsewhere.

Update 5:49pm PST: A statement was released on behalf of Deep Silver and Apogee Software, the two companies working on Duke Nukem portable titles. "Deep Silver and Apogee Software are not affected by the situation at 3D Realms," the statement reads. "Development on the Duke Nukem Trilogy is continuing as planned." Late last year Apogee Software was launched as a sister arm to 3D Realms.

Gamasutra is reporting that it received confirmation that 3D Realms will close by week's end.

Message board chatter is suggesting that Duke Nukem developer 3D Realms has closed its doors. Shacknews is reporting that it spoke to a "very reliable source" that confirmed the news. Calls and e-mails to employees at 3D Realms were not returned. A representative at 2K Games forwarded us Take-Two Interactive, but did not deny the report. Take-Two Interactive had not responded to our request for comment at the time this story was published. According to Shacknews, the company closed due to financial issues and all employees were let go. A call to customer support was met with a recorded message stating that 3D Realms and Apogee Software could no longer offer live support of its games. However, online orders are still being honored. If 3D Realms is indeed closed, it's uncertain if Duke Nukem Forever will continue on under the guidance of another developer.